Finish Dishwasher Tablets - Expiry Date?

[zanussi_lover]

Ive just moved into a shared house and we ran out of dishwasher tablets. I went to B&M and got a box of 42 Regular Finish all in one Tablets for £3.99, they had the old packaging and the Which Label from March 2009.

I checked the underneath and it says 15 03 2011, does this mean they have expired, and can I still use them?, Ive already done one wash with them and they dissolved fine, but I only ran a Quick wash, so it didn't really get the full effect of drying.

one would think they would be okay being dishwasher tablets in plastic wrappers.
I shall do another wash with them and see how it copes on a regular wash.

If it doesn't wash well, then its back to Asda Citrus all in one or Magnum Lemon all in one tablets

 

[rolls_rapide]

You shouldn't really stockpile tons of tablets (or powder), because the oxygen based bleach can dissipate into the atmosphere, rendering the detergent much less efficient than it would be if freshly bought.

I have stockpiled before, and noticed that sometimes the tablets' throw-away wrappers ballooned around the tablet. Some of the Finish "Max-in-1" seemed to have swelled inside their tightly fitted dissolvable wrappers.

Remember store in a cool, dry cupboard. A bone-dry, unheated spare room might be okay, but not a variable temperature loft, nor a damp cellar.

 

[launderess]

Have Tons of Oxygen Bleach Containg Laundry/Dishwashing Prod

In my stash, some >ten years old including the several crates of vintage Henkel Persil, and all work pretty much as they should.

The only thing is such products must be stored in a cool and dry environment. So if the package is "expanding" or what not that means moisture has some how gotten in and yes, the stuff is no good.

When Electrasol tablets (as the product was known before Finish took over) came out here there was a sale of stock before the switch over. Purchased a good amount of canisters and boxes of those tablets. None of the packets expanded or otherwise went off, and still did the job as intended. The only problem we saw was that as time went into years the darn things became hard as rocks. Took to using a mallet to whack the closed packet to bits before using.

Mind you did so because one tablet caused huge froth issues in our dishwasher,so only used half tab per load. Have no idea if one of the hockey puck tabs would have disolved on it's own if dispensed.

 

[zanussi_lover]

I took them back

Only bought one box of finish, used them and they didn't dissolve so took them back and got Magnum All in one tablets from aldi, the lady gave me a refund as they were an old batch love Aldis dw tablets, everything comes out sparkly and bargain for £3.99 for 40

 

[passatdoc]

I am guilty of Electrasol/Finish stockpiling for two reasons:

1. Each time a rumor spreads that they are removing the phosphates from the product and that the phosphate-free formulation doesn't work, I go to Costco and buy a 100-count canister. I think I have three of these, sealed and unopened (Powerball tabs with the red ball).

2. Some friends of mine with a new KitchenAid had bought two 100-count canisters from Costco in the past and found that the tabs did not fit well inside their new KA detergent dispenser (door sometimes difficult to latch), so they went powder or gel and gave me the two canisters. These are older packages, as the Powerball is white, not red. The tabs had fit fine in their old non-KA DW, but there were issues with the new KA, so they dumped the tabs on me.

As a result, I estimate that my hoard exceeds 400 Electrasol and Finish tabs (the white balls are badged as Electrasol, the red ones as Finish---the name change in the USA was in 2008, so my white ball tablets are pre-2008). Given that the white (Electrasol) tabs are older, I am using them first, and leaving my red ball Finish tab canisters sealed and sitting in the garage until I get rid of the white Electrasol tabs first---which will take me more than a year at this rate.

Each tab is wrapped in plastic. I've never seen ballooning, but now and then see that the tab has swollen. I would assume this means there was a defect in the wrapping and the tablet absorbed water from the atmosphere. If I find a deformed tablet, I throw it out. If the tablet is normal in appearance, I use it. One issue I have noticed is that sometimes the powerball becomes detached from the tablet, but I don't think that really affects performance. I push the ball back into the cavity of the tablet and close the dispense door. I presume that when the dispenser opens, the ball falls out separately from the tablet, but either way the ball would be exposed to the hot water and likely detaches from the tablet in the first few minutes after it is released, as it begins to dissolve. At any rate, I have not noticed a difference in cleaning ability between tabs with the ball attached vs. detached.

 

[passatdoc]

Aldi....hmmmmm

Aldi has its own brand name markets in the USA, not everywhere, but they seem to be common in the East and the South. They are much better known in the USA for their Trader Joe's market chain, which sells high quality, sort of upscale and somewhat exotic foods and wines. Aldi didn't invent Trader Joe's, it began in Pasadena CA in the 1960s, but Aldi acquired the stores (1990s). I think Trader Joe's does sell a DW soap, I ought to check next time there and see where their product is made. Does the Aldi detergent you buy in UK show a country of origin on the package?

http://www.traderjoes.com/

 

Tesco began a chain of markets (mainly in California to start) called "Fresh and Easy", which bear some similarity to Trader Joe's. Their forte seems to be prepared meals that one can take to the office and reheat. I've never been in one of the stores, but they have their fans. When the first ones opened here several years ago, British ex-pats flocked to them in the expectation that they would find "imported goods" (= biscuits, tea, clotted cream, bangers, Quality Street, etc.) at discount prices. Alas, the stores do not carry any "British goods" and the initial news coverage focused on the disappointment of the would-be ex-pat customers.




http://www.freshandeasy.com/

 

 

 

[jrap330]

Finish Powerball not dissolving in new Bosch Machine

I have a large container (qty 117) of Finish Powerball Max 3 in 1 detergent tabs. I purchased around Jan 2022 and it now is May 2022. THey had trouble dissolving in my old Kenmore machine, heater element burn-out. Now in my new Bosch 100 Series Dishwasher out of 23 loads, I will say 6 loads the tabs did not dissolved and I had to re-run a cycle.

Has anyone had issue with new "unwrap" Finish tabs dissolving? Could it be because the large container (qty 117) last a long time, that moisture gets in every time you open it and affects the tabs?

 

[liberatordeluxe]

Finish Tablets

Used to be a user of Finish but swapped to Fairy instead. Cleans better and cheaper in the long run if you buy from Savers or Wilko.

 

[iej]

The current Fairy / Dreft capsules made by P&G Europe in Belgium are extremely good. They seem to have solved the over foaming issue. I have found they clean far better than any other brand I’ve used.

It’s very likely they’re the same as Cascade but you can never be sure if the formulations in different regions, with different regulations, are identical.

I used to avoid Fairy as it was so foamy and highly scented but that’s changed a lot. The scent is nicer than it was too and doesn’t linger on dishes

As for expired dates, generally if the product is dry, they’ve a very long shelf life. The issue is when any kind of moisture or even moist air enters, they can begin to dissolve and react.
It depends how they were stored, if the sealed pack was opened and so on.

None of these products have an indefinite shelf life as they are, by their nature, fairly reactive and designed to break down in water and contain oxidising agents and other ingredients that are designed to be very chemically active. That being said, their shelf life is usually longer than they would dare to claim to avoid selling dud products. [this post was last edited: 5/14/2022-04:50]